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“Yup.”
According to Carly, that had become my role when Joystick was spending time with Diego and Raul—the person Joystick talked about a lot. Before that, he was prone to bring up a man he hadn’t seen for fifteen years? Who hated his guts on principle until a week or so ago?
“You didn’t do that to Kandace did you?” Eli’s question was laced with concern and pending anger.
“She and I didn’t do much talking—”
“Uh-uh.” Eli cut him off. “Kandace didn’t go back to some stranger’s room who wasn’t stimulating her mentally.”
Eli was right. Even this new, wilder Kandace would’ve been put off by a Joystick who couldn’t hold up a good conversation. He didn’t remember the night differently, did he? “No, I wouldn’t have. There was definitely talking first, and no, he didn’t mention Eli.”
Joystick screwed his face up and furrowed his brows. “Then I guess with Isabella… I was comparing her to the one great relationship I’d had before her. I did that a lot.”
“And then you met Kandace and replaced me?” Was that actual teasing in Eli’s voice? Playfulness? What was happening here, because it felt good.
Joystick shifted his weight on the couch as much as he could with the cast on, and looked at me, then past me to Eli, then at me again. “Neither of you replaced the other. I want you both.”
His words were both as sweet and as terrifying as what Eli said earlier.
“I reached the same conclusion not too long ago,” Eli said with a light chuckle.
Joystick grinned. “What about you, Kandace?”
My turn. This was my chance to confess I hoped for the same thing. The words were in my brain, and I’d thought them over and over. Why were they lodged in my throat now? “How’s a woman supposed to complain about that?”
Both men looked satisfied with my answer, but the entire conversation left my brain warring with itself.
It was easy to forget my doubts though as the night and the conversation flowed on. Then again, a lot of things were easy with the two of them. Joystick made it easy to relax and forget anything bad had ever existed, and Eli made it easy to think. To question things from new angles. Both of them let me see the world differently, and I liked their perspectives.
At some point, Joystick couldn’t shrug off his winces anymore, and we made him admit that his ankle was starting to bother him. We all moved into the bedroom, to let him lie down and prop up his foot.
He insisted we stay and keep him company, and that he wasn’t going to lay in the bed alone and be bored. We were going to join him.
I was fine with that. It was a comfy, intimate space to sit while we talked about everything from script writing to sitting in the make-up chair to discovering the secrets of the universe.
* * *
“Oh, holy shit.”Lucas’s shocked tone yanked me from sleep.
I was pressed between Joystick and Eli, in Joystick’s bed. We were all still fully clothed, which made sense because according to the memories floating back, we’d made our way in here last night, and fallen asleep talking.
Was guilt making me dream that my son had caught us like this?
“I’m walking away now,” Lucas said.
Damn it. He was actually here, standing in the doorway to the bedroom and not making any motion to leave at all. Though he did have his hand over his eyes.
“We’re all dressed,” I said.
He jammed his fingers in his ears and screwed his eyes shut. “La-la-la-la.” He turned and walked away.
Double damn it. Joystick and Eli were both looking between me and him, with questioning expressions.
“My son.” I climbed from the bed. “I have to stop him. Explain.” I didn’t wait for any responses as I chased Lucas down and caught him in the living room.
This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. This was why I hadn’t told him… Fuck. “Wait.”
“I swear to God, Mom.” Lucas stared me down. “If you tell me it’s not what it looks like…” His tone was flat. Emotionless.
